Jackson Ockley

Name: Jackson Ockley

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Grade: 12th

School: Bayview Secondary School

Hobbies and Interests: romance movies and novels, mysteries, chemistry, cross country running, volunteering

Appearance: Many would be surprised to see Jackson’s height listed as 6’1. The youngest Ockley boy holds himself as a much smaller person with his perpetually slumped head, hunched shoulders and general aura of meekness, looking especially miniscule amongst Bayview’s abnormally tall student population. Making matters worse is the mere 146lbs stretched across a frame built for much larger weights. His stick-like arms and the visible network of veins that dramatically burst from them dangle helplessly from boney, massive shoulders and the flat thin block that is his torso and midsection is seemingly over-supported by fit lower leg and unproportionally thick thighs and round glutes. Cross country running has made his legs more powerful, but has otherwise been no help to his meager bulk. The reddish-pale skin that coats all of this gives the boy an almost sickly appearance. The few freckle impostors that dot his arms are actually small flat moles; other than some redder patches, his skin hardly responds to sunlight.

A strong neck is another indicator left from the bulk Jackson’s genetics intended for him. A smear of dark hair is splayed across it at and above the adam’s apple and leads to a wide jaw, pointing at an almost dainty chin, all blanketed in a thin, messy beard trimmed to the jawline. The dark growth succeeds in masking the mole on the angle of his right mandible but does little to hide the scar that cuts through the hair from just under his left nostril and continues to trail directly down through the flesh of his thin red upper lip. On the upper side of the parted hair-sea is a short upturned “button” nose with wide-winged nostrils. The nose is flanked by a pair of dark sepia eyes that seem to sport a constant look of mild concentration, attributable to their being deeply set and sporting heavy lids. It’s unusual to see these unadorned by a part of Clark Kent-style black glasses with a stronger prescription in the right eye. A pair of heavy and dark eyebrows loom above this under a short forehead. This is all flanked by padded cheeks that save Jackson’s face from the skeletal appearance shared by the rest of his body. The single dimple denting his left cheek give any smile a wry tone. The right cheek lacks the matching dimple but sports a small café-au-lait spot just above where one would be. Smiling is a strictly no-teeth affair for Jackson, making them hardly worth mentioning; however, were they visible, the small gap between the front teeth and the too-sharp canines would be instantly noticeable, as well as how uncannily white they’re kept for a person who hardly shows them.

Though it was once a coffee-brown color, Jackson’s highlights disappeared from his hair as he aged, eventually leaving it a flat black that contrasts dramatically with his blanched skin. His bangs are choppily cut and would generally end just below his lower eyelids if they weren’t lightly swept aside to the left. The rest is an equally messy affair: thick, volumous, and rarely ever brushed. The edges are often left dramatically curled from the combination of wet hair and hats, almost always beanies (the single exception to the beanie rule being a white Oakley trucker cap with black stripes running diagonally across to the right). The 6-gauge plug in the unattached lobe of his right ear is black with thin white lines running through it, further revealing a fetish for stripes. Even with the addition length on the right ear, both are small and don’t extend far. The plug is by far the least conservative member of his wardrobe.

Jackson’s style of dress totters awkwardly on the line between casual and simply informal. He is probably one of the few members of the cross country team who would adhere to the tired tradition of treating a meet day as a shirt-and-tie event. Even outside of this it’s rare to see Jackson without a collar during all but the warmest of months, paired with a blazer, cardigan, or sweater when appropriate. This extends to his impressive collection of flannels, probably the third or fourth least formal sector of his closet next to a cache of mostly-fitted band and graphic tees. Uncollared additions include long-sleeved tees and thermals; short sleeves are a rare sight, even in the summer. The same applies to pants, jeans and corduroys which rarely reveal below the knee except for athletic shorts. Days where shorts are an absolute necessity usually results in rolled-up cuffs. Jackson’s shoes come in three flavors of brown leather: oxford dress shoes, moccasins, and a pair of hiking boots. The notable exceptions to this are a pair of blue studded running shoes and gray-and-orange trainers. Similarly brown and leathery are the majority of Jackson’s accessories, including all of his belts and most of his necklaces and bracelets.

Jackson’s island attire includes, starting from the top, a light gray beanie and his Clark-Kent-by-Michael-Kors glasses. A miniature gray dreamcatcher on a brown leather string hangs over a white tee bearing the album art from Modest Mouse’s “No One’s First and You’re Next” EP. Over this still is a slightly threadbare red flannel shirt. A dark leather belt with a brass-colored fastener holds up a pair of dark stonewashed jeans with slightly too-long cuffs that are rolled up over a pair of dark brown leather moccasins. More leather adorns his wrists: a brown leather necklace wrapped around the left with a small black ceramic bear hanging from the end loop, and a leather strap on the right holding the silver face of a digital watch. Non-bovine accessories include black-and-brown strings woven together under the wristwatch and a while athletic band high on the left forearm with a black Kidrobot logo adorning it.

Biography: July 6th was the first of three times Jackson would find himself in a St. Joseph's hospital room, this first and most significant being his birth. Julianne Ockley gave birth to the healthy baby boy while Francis Ockley entertained twenty-three-month-old Kurt and nine-year-old-reason-for-their-marriage Matthew “Matty” Ockley in the cafeteria. Francis’s absence in the room was ironic, considering he was the reason for the night’s events, having refused the doctor’s recommendation for abortion months earlier when he suggested the baby’s high risk for deformity following Julianne’s struggle with ovarian cancer. Being absent in his youngest son’s life was something Francis would become quite adept at.

Jackson’s quietness was a constant worry to his parents in his first few months. It wasn’t until he received several clean bills of health that the family began to realize this as part of his nature. Kindergarten made the child no louder. He would often be found playing alone in the corner while his peers played loudly and messily around him. It quickly became clear that Jackson would not be the social beast his brothers were. This bored his brothers and somewhat disappointed his father while at the same time endearing him to his mother, who had been a quiet child herself. In light of Francis’s recent promotion to general manager at the nearby 3M plant, Julianne took the opportunity to quit her job at the answering service she’d worked at for the past six years and focus her energies on the boy. He gradually opened up to her and would babble endlessly to his mother about school or what he’d seen on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. An increasingly frustrated Francis had no such luck no matter how many trips to the park or slot-car tracks he took the boy on. His affections continued to focus on the older boys while his wife became enthralled with the younger.

Jackson was the first of his first grade classmates to read. He did so ravenously. As he grew past picture books and choose-your-own-adventures his favorites became the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine, acquiring an early taste for the macabre. This affection grew to include Lovecraft, a turbulent love-hate relationship with King and a brief, embarrassing phase that included the likes of Koontz. A love of horror made mysteries an often-visited mistress through the books of Erle Stanley Gardner, Agatha Christie and Isaac Asimov. His penchant for everything literary proved to be little help academically, as the rest of the core skills the school system expected of him came less easily. He was clueless in math, far from being a candidate for the Presidential Physical Fitness Award and could not for the life of him memorize the names and placements of all fifty states. His helplessness would unintentionally fix itself. Proving that maternal instinct can kick in even before puberty, Jackson became the project of a string of female classmates who were drawn to his helplessness like sharks to blood. He found himself under constant tutelage in his school years. This also led to the discovery that he could socialize much easier with girls than boys, who he was constantly hushed around and eventually often bullied by. This disadvantage led to Jackson’s second visit to St. Joseph’s.

Jackson was seven in the winter that ended with the distinctive scar on his lip. He had been playing tag with his quasi-harem when he found himself stopped by one of the more fearsome boys of his class on an icy patch. A simple push resulted in much more damage than intended when Jackson landed flat on his face. His front teeth punched through his top lip and left the better part of it unattached and dangling and gushing blood. Kurt came running across the playground to his brother’s aid upon hearing the screams and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. For the time it was an uncharacteristic display, but after this first failure Kurt would take on the duties of mentor- and guardianship he believed were necessary of an older sibling.

The uneventful end of middle school came with the more eventful end of his parents’ marriage. Jackson felt guilty for being the least emotional over the news, as he had never witnessed the love between them that his brothers might have. He was the only son to elect to follow Julianne to her new home. The only interaction Jackson had with the rest of his family for the next year were the awkward dinners on weekends required by law. Ms. Byrne, as she called herself even before the divorce was settled, purchased a duplex in the city with her older sister Hayley, who was in desperate need of a better housing situation. Their brother Ari tried to persuade her to move into his Vermont home instead, but Julianne wanted to save her son the stress of moving and keep him connected with his father and brothers. Mrs. Daly (never “Aunt Hayley”) was much less pleasant than her cheerfully rhyming name. Her husband was a dark, imposing figure that rarely interacted with Jackson or his mother, though could be easily heard on their side of the house when he drunkenly degraded his wife. Jackson never thought the slandering undeserved. Jackson had read of harpies before, and Mrs. Daly fit the description perfectly. The woman was birdlike and cruel and showed only disdain for her sister and child where Jackson knew there should be love and gratefulness. Julianne was wary of her sister’s temper. The two would keep themselves confined to their half of the house unless absolute necessary. It only spared them for so long. A week after Jackson ended his 7th grade year he was awoken late at night to the sharp urine-like smell of ammonia. Mrs. Daly had spilled it under their doors as they slept. Julianne hurriedly cleaned of it what she could and packed the necessities. They had been evicted with no more dignity than rats.

Jackson and his mother spent the remainder of that summer with the other half of the Ockley family. He rarely heard his father speak outside of arguments with his mother (usually about taking legal action against her sister, which she had many well-rehearsed excuses against, or about the apartments she was considering) and idle dinner talk, knowing better than to try and rekindle what was never there, though Jackson could not help but feel bitterness towards the man. There was only one thing that endeared Jackson’s father to him: the constant supply of cigarettes he left lying carelessly around the house. It was a habit that he was able to keep secret from his family easily, especially considering that they were largely absent. Matty visited only rarely (and even then usually to borrow money from his father). Even his mother was mostly absent between work and apartment searching. The only constant fixture for those two months was Kurt. He’d kept the role of guardian as best he could over the previous year and found himself slipping into the roles of confidant and friend with ease. It was under Kurt’s guidance that Jackson found himself a member of the middle school cross country team and an overall more socially confident person as he moved into his mother’s new apartment and started his eighth grade year.

Jackson was not the star runner of the cross country team in his first year. That honor went to 7th grade boy Cedric Pomeroy. He was not only Jackson’s athletic superior, but also his first close male friend outside of Kurt. The younger boy was an abrasive companion. He was Jackson’s complete opposite: loud, arrogant, self-absorbed, and, above all, fun. He was Jackson’s catalyst for truly creating a teenage social life, as well as a reliable supplier of cigarettes and other vices. Jackson balanced out his newfound source or corruption with more altruistic activities. With the new apartment came a new position for Julianne as a coordinator for the local Red Cross chapter. As her hours extended two past Jackson’s school schedule, he found himself helping her around the office after school. He would soon become a member of the DAT team and later a certified co-instructor for CPR, AED and first aid classes. His introduction to the Red Cross was one of his major inspirations to follow a career in nursing, though it would be a later event that would spark his passion for it.

Freshman year brought two things in copious amounts: alcohol, and Jane Austen. The first came with Cedric and his “get-togethers”, the second with his English class’s required reading. By the end of the term Jackson knew Pride & Prejudice the novel, the BBC miniseries, and the Joe Wright film inside and out. Horror was forced to share his heart with a genre opposite in nearly every way. His taste for it ended at the twentieth century. It made the hobby no less embarrassing and was kept secret from all but his mother. To his surprise, Julianne embraced his son’s feminine past-time. The two often bonded over rented “chick flicks” and shared novels. For a while the hardships they’d endured were forgotten and they resembled the happy family they both craved. It wouldn’t last for very long.

Jackson’s third time in a St. Joseph’s hospital room came in several installments. The first was for the ankle Julianne broke when she tripped on the curb as they left an Applebee’s. It was a minor event up until the scans revealed the tumor in her tibia. She had been hiding the swelling and pain from him for weeks. The broken bone was a blessing, the doctors claimed. They were lucky they caught the tumor so soon. They might be able to save the leg. The date of the surgery came and did not go as smoothly as expected when Julianne experienced a severe allergic reaction to general anesthetic. The attending anesthesiologist reacted quickly enough to fight the anaphylaxis with adrenaline and she was able to be revived after nearly five minutes without breath. The complications resulted in the loss of her left leg above the knee. It soon became apparent that this was not all she had lost when she showed symptoms of anoxic brain damage. She became perpetually distant and inattentive. A loss of balance meant she’d never leave a wheelchair and that prosthetics would do her no good. Jackson refused Francis’s offers to take him in while his mother recovered but as it became clear that he and his mother could sustain themselves no longer, he had no other options. His Uncle Ari assumed the responsibility of caring for his sister with the help of a caretaker. Jackson returned to the Ockley household from helping Francis and Ari move her into his home in Vermont just in time for the start of cross country season two weeks before the beginning of his junior year.

Of Jackson’s regular confidants, Kurt had graduated and was holding a job under his father at 3M while Cedric and Jackson were no longer speaking for unknown reasons that left their mutual friends mystified. Because of this, very few of Jackson’s peers knew of his family situation. This must have made his frequent after-school sessions with the notoriously strict Mrs. Heys seem twice as strange. They started when the chemistry teacher approached Jackson about his consistent D’s in her class after they’d resulted in an early end to his cross country season. She suggested he meet her after school for help a few days a week. He dismissed the offer as pity. It wasn’t until his grade dipped into the F’s that he took her up on it. They were short, painful meetings at first. However, as time went on he found them bearable, eventually even pleasant, until they became obsolete once his grade reached a consistent B and he developed a genuine love for the subject. His newfound talent in the sciences renewed the dreams of nursing that had started with the Red Cross and strengthened with watching the St. Joseph's staff care for his mother. Mrs. Heys was unsurprised to find Jackson in both her AP Chemistry and Anatomy & Physiology classes at the start of his senior year.

Jackson’s rigorous class schedule coupled with the absence of Cedric (outside their tense shared membership of the cross country team) left him without much of a social life at the end of his senior year. His friends consist mostly of former female tutors and a few shared with Kurt, whose apartment he often stays at when the Ockley house became too much to bear. His impressive transcript won him admission to Metropolitan State University. He is attending in the fall with an undeclared major and plans to study nursing after achieving the program’s prerequisites.

Advantages: Cross country has made Jackson a competent runner. He is trained and adept in first aid as well as being somewhat knowledgeable in more serious injuries that first aid may not entirely prepare for.

Disadvantages: Jackson is not much of a social butterfly and even less of a fighter, making his classmates serious enough threats even without the help of “Survival of the Fittest”. His smoking habit has dulled his running skills more than he’d like to admit (as has the unhealthy stress of the last two years). Probably most significant is his devotion to a career involving saving lives; Jackson would likely have issues with injuring or killing peers even in extreme situations.

Designated Number: Male Student no. 136

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Designated Weapon: One ounce Marijuana

Conclusion: Jackson apparently has a smoking habit, so maybe he'll be happy with some weed! Sure, it's not cigarettes, but... Desperate times call for desperate measures? Anyway, I cannot foresee Jackson making it very far.. unless he bargains for his life with the promise of marijuana..

'The above biography is as written by Choic. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: karsk, faceinabook

Kills: None

Killed By: Ilario Fiametta III

Collected Weapons: One ounce Marijuana (assigned weapon)

Allies: Ilario Fiametta III

Enemies: None

Mid-game Evaluation: Jackon's first experience with the game started with him being attacked by Ilario Fiametta on the beach. He was easily able to defend himself from the other boy and eventually subdued him, but just as he was about to leave, he found Ilario was having an attack of somekind, and begruidgingly and frantically looked for an epipen of somekind in Ilario's bag. When he couldn't find one, Jackson was forced to give mouth-to-mouth to him, and Ilario eventually came too. Jackson heavily berated Ilario for what he'd done, and was about to head off on his own when the other boy asked him for help in finding his sisters Rosa and Frankie. Jackson was in no way okay with helping him, but instead told him to clean himself up after vomitting on himself and didn't object when Ilario finally did follow him.

The two stopped by the ranger station in the woods. He shared his cigarettes with Ilario briefly, but his time was brought to an end when Ilario examined his weapon, a gun disguised as a lipstick canister, and accidentally discharged in Jackson's direction, shooting him in the head.

Post-Game Evaluation: Wow, another clumsy death, didn't see that one coming. It's like this entire class was destined to have jobs in their futures that included "carrying banana cream pies down staircases". Jackson did nothing of interest, except save the life of one of our future killers. But then again, we have so many more where Ilario came from, so I can really call this guy a complete waste of space.

Memorable Quotes: "You’re goddamned lucky I didn’t just let you choke. Stay the fuck out of my face." - Jackson's colourful vocabulary.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Jackson, in chronological order.

V4:
 * Unquestioned Answers
 * Act I: General Anesthetic

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Jackson Ockley. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * I liked Jackson a lot. He may not have lasted long, but he made a very good showing in some areas SOTF is often quite weak in. Basically, Jackson's stuff is just fun to read because it's super well-written and packed full of imagery rare in the island deathmatch situation. I recommend him, especially since he's a short read and helped launch one of V4's longest-lasting players. - MurderWeasel